The Air Force has been tooting their own horn after recently shooting down a ballistic missile with a plane-mounted laser-pewer. That's cool, but I've been able to do the same thing for years with my eyeballs. OH -- OH -- DON'T MAKE ME TAKE OFF THESE OAKLEYS!

The plane uses lasers to lock onto the missile and follow its trajectory and then brings it down with a single shot from its nose - all in a matter of seconds.

It is the first successful test of a futuristic, directed energy weapon and realises what had previously just been a science fiction fantasy.

Iran and North Korea could now be forced to alter their missile programmes to make them faster and to look at how to counter the laser beams.

Neat, but what I want to know is this: where was that missile headed and what would've happened if the pew didn't bring it down? Because I'd like to imagine IT WAS AIMED RIGHT AT YO FACE. Oooooh, burn. Wait, reader -- come back!